Dear Younger Raveeta,

We both know that we used to live in Guyana and were practically raised there. We only knew of two genders, male or female. We had no idea gender orientation existed or even mattered. After moving to New York, we were exposed to a diverse group of people which includes the LGBTQ community. We were introduced to gay men and lesbian women. We then found out about transgenders and then about intersex. Later, we learnt about sexual orientation or gender preference. So much to grasp, so overwhelming. We questioned ourselves: why do people even want to identify as the gender they were born with? Why think about pronouns? Because growing up, it was drilled

into our head that a man should marry a woman, not a man to a man or woman to a woman. Now we know that there is so much to learn and understand, starting with Science Says there are more than two Gender by Trace Dominguez.​

Trace Dominguez argues that there is more than one gender. He starts off saying that we are not born with a gender; it is taught us. It is more like gender is determined by culture. We are taught that pink is for girl and blue is for boys. According to Dominguez (2015), in the Women’s Journal in the 1900s, pink was considered a stronger color and was thought to be suitable for boys, while blue, considered a more delicate and dainty color, was for the girls. Gender rules, as you can see, are arbitrary and bound to the time and place that invented them.Transgender identity has always existed. Research shows that a transgender person knows their gender by the age of 5. Dominguez talks about gender identity, which is where someone identifies as a gender they are most comfortable with. Then there is intersex, where an individual is born with both male and female sex organs because as Dominguez states: “things change and nature is not 100%.” I am still new to this. Having been taught that there are only two genders and then coming to a place where people identify in many different ways? It’s just too much to take in. I do know though that sex and gender are not fixed categories.Gender roles often mean that someone who identifies as a man is considered strong, like an action hero or sole provider for a home; someone who identifies as a woman is labeled as a housewife or homemakers. These are all gender roles which society expects of a person. However, gender identities are changing constantly. There are individuals who prefer different gender roles without being judged.

So to the old me: that was some information for you to understand that gender roles and gender identity are real. To the present me? Just be ready to keep grappling with these concepts and push for a difference in today’s world.